This invention relates to fabrications for automotive vehicles and more particularly to structural fabrications for automotive vehicle bodies.
Automotive vehicle bodies customarily include a frame or underbody that has a pair of vertical stantions or A-pillars on the opposite sides of the vehicle body at the juncture of an engine compartment and a passenger compartment. These stantions or A-pillars are usually connected to each other by a cross beam in the form of a steel tube or stamping at the cowl of the vehicle body which is located near an instrument panel. The cross beam provides cross car stiffness, manages side impact loads, provides steering column support and absorbs the reaction force of the passenger supplemental inflatable restraint (PSIR) when it is deployed. See, for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,465 granted to Renzo Piano Jul. 5, 1983 which discloses a body structure that has side stantions that are connected to each other by two cross beams, one of which is at the cowl of the vehicle behind an instrument panel.
Automobiles also typically include ducts associated with or near the instrument panel for delivering treated or ambient air in connection with the heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) system of the automobile. For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 4,391,465 granted to Renzo Piano Jul. 5, 1983 discussed above also discloses an assembly for separating the passenger and engine compartments that includes two thermoplastic elements. One thermoplastic element has an upper portion that supports the second element and generates with the second element cavities and channels for conveying air in connection with the heating and ventilating system. The one element is made of a plastic material of high mechanical and flame resistance while the second element is made of a plastic material that has a hardness and mechanical resistance that are lower.
The two thermoplastic elements that generate the cavities and channels, however, are separate and distinct from the cross beam at the cowl of the vehicle that is described above. Moreover, the cavities and channels are described in broad terms and illustrated so that the precise shapes, particular functions and interactions of the various cavities and channels are not clear.
Fabrications for automotive vehicle bodies that include structural components that act as cross beams connecting the stantions or A-pillars of the vehicle body are also known.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,568 granted to Franz Paefgen and Hermann Guhl Jul. 26, 1988 discloses an instrument panel for a motor car that consists essentially of a light alloy beam which extends over the whole width of the vehicle compartment below the windshield and which carries an instrument top. The instrument panel, however, does not have any heating, ventilating or air conditioning ducts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,898 granted to Piero Benedetto, Salvatore Bezzi and Paola Odone Apr. 9, 1991 discloses vehicle structure in which a panel divides the engine compartment and the passenger compartment. The panel comprises a rigid element with a mechanical support function and a soundproofing element constructed of expanded material of cellular structure, preferably with closed cells (such as polyurethane). The soundproofing element forms a single body with the rigid element which defines a load bearing framework embedded in the soundproofing element. The rigid element is preferably formed by molding a flame resistant synthetic plastic material but can also be of sheet metal construction. The panel comprises an upper portion formed substantially as a cross-member and provided integrally with respective brackets for connection to the vehicle body and with at least one respective bracket for supporting an instrument dashboard. The panel of this arrangement also does not have any heating, ventilating or air conditioning ducts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,571 granted to Donald R. Burry and Leonard J. Pilato Feb. 18, 1992 discloses a modular structural instrument panel carrier comprising two panels that are attached together to define a box beam assembly which extends transversely across the vehicle. The panels are preferably constructed of fiber reinforced plastic. The box beam assembly is an integral load carrying member of the vehicle body and defines a single air transfer duct extending fully across the vehicle for several passenger compartment outlets. The box beam relies on shape, intra panel attachment and fiber reinforced plastic for its strength and provides just one duct for the HVAC system of the automobile.